Neriglissar worked for a few hours, continuing to analyze various companies, Babylonian and foreign, and write reports on what the Grand Euphrates Banking Corporation should invest in. Later on, an hour after midday, he went out with his colleagues of the same floor to eat at a restaurant located nearby, also on Inshushinak Square, for their lunch break. It was quite an expensive place, mostly frequented by upper-middle and upper class workers and businessmen of the area, including the employees of the Banking Corporation. Neriglissar and his two friends and coworkers, Merodach Tadani and Ahikilim Naggaru, also financial analysts, though a few years younger than Neriglissar, sat down at a table and ordered some beer and meat dishes, as they always had.

“So, when do you think Shilhak-Humban is gonna take the throne? The coronation ceremony should be close now, I’d say,” Ahikilim said as they were eating.

“Why? He’s still a kid, he won’t be crowned for a while,” Neriglissar replied.

“He turned sixteen recently, didn’t he? So, not a kid anymore.”

“Ah, that’s still a kid. Many haven’t even finished scribe school by that age.”

“Well, he’s different. He’s a royal, so he probably already finished the equivalent of it years ago. And in any case, sixteen is usually the age when the regents finally step back and let the true monarch take over.”

“Regent, yeah, right…” Merodach chuckled. “We all know Lim is no mere regent, she is a fully fledged empress.”

“That’s nice of you to say, she still won’t fuck you though,” Ahikilim laughed.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Ah, fuck you, man. Don’t pretend you don’t dream of hitting that body.”

“Well, you are right. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that ass. Wish she would make public appearances more often.”

“Anyways, I agree with Mer that she is no regent. She will probably try to hold on to power for as long as possible,” Neriglissar diverted the conversation. “Our boy Humban might have to wait quite a bit longer to become the emperor.”

“Well, I for one can’t wait,” Ahikilim said as he took another gulp of his beer. “Listen, I have nothing against our beautiful empress, but we need a real man in charge of the faction.”

“Oh, here we go again. Ahi and his misogynistic rants, a classic during our lunch time,” Merodach interrupted.

“Listen, all I’m saying is that our leaders are a bit… unconventional at the moment. We got, what, a couple chicks, two bankers, one king pretending to not be their puppet, and a motherfucking barbarian horsefucker to top it all off.”

“Well, seems you’re very much in luck then. You’ve got every chance of becoming a monarch, since you are a banker, a barbarian horsefucker, and not even a man at that.”

The three of them erupted in laughter.

“Alright, you got me good,” Ahikilim said.

“Hey, you set yourself up exactly for that,” Neriglissar said.

“Yeah, right. Anyways, so I’m just saying, I’m excited to see how Shilhak-Humban fares. Should be an interesting time.”

“And don’t forget the marriage. You know, between him and our princess.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Merodach said. “We may see our two kingdoms join into one in our lifetime. Maybe even the other EC states as well. The marriage ceremony may very well happen before the coronation, mommy Kiririsha must want to set that up well in advance.”

“And our homeboy Nebuchadnezzar gets cucked once again…” Ahikilim replied.

“Stop whining. If not for the Elamites, we would still be living under the subhuman Kassites.”

“Fair enough. I wonder if our work benefits cover front row tickets for these royal events?”

“I’m pretty sure we would still have thousands of persons of interest in line before us,” Neriglissar said. “But I’ll be sure to ask the boss when the opportunity presents itself.”